Deity

Indrani

Hindu Deities

Indrani, also called Aindri, is one of the Sapta Matrikas, the seven mother goddesses of Hindu tradition, embodying the shakti or divine power of Indra, king of the gods and lord of storms. She rides his mount, the elephant, and carries his thunderbolt, the vajra. The Devi Mahatmya recounts the Matrikas springing from the bodies of the gods to fight beside the goddess Durga against the demon armies, each taking her parent god's own form and arms. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts

Function

Domain / Functionthe subject's own account

Protection and guardianship 1

Attributions

Mythic Association

In the Metropolitan Museum's Pahari painting of the Devi Mahatmya battle scene she is shown mounted on an elephant, flying above the field alongside the other Matrikas around Durga and the emaciated Chamunda. 2

Belief

Theologythe subject's own account

Debated 1

Identity

Genderthe subject's own account

Female 1

Origins

Origin of the Namethe subject's own account

Indrani is the feminine form of Indra, naming her directly as his shakti rather than as an independently rooted theonym; the alternate name Aindri carries the same derivation through the adjectival form Aindra. 1

Attestation

Veneration Todaythe subject's own account

Actively venerated in a living tradition 1

Historicitythe subject's own account

Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1

Cult

Attributes and Iconographythe subject's own account

Shown riding an elephant, Indra's own mount, and carrying his thunderbolt, the vajra, the standard canon for the Matrika who is his shakti. 1

Correspondences & Relations

Pantheons

Hindu

Connections

Associated With

Battle Scene from a Devi Mahatmya, Object Record (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

This source names Indrani directly: "Brahmani on a swan flying above, with Indrani on an elephant and Maheswari on a bull."

Source Battle Scene from a Devi Mahatmya, Object Record (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Durga

This source names Durga directly: "the gods to fight beside the goddess Durga against the demon armies, each taking her parent god's own form and arms."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)

Indra

This source names Indra directly: "Indrani, also called Aindri, is one of the Sapta Matrikas, the seven mother goddesses of Hindu tradition, embodying the shakti or divine power of Indra, king of the gods and lord of storms."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)

Matrikas (Wikipedia)

This source names Indrani directly: "of Kartikeya, Varahi of Varaha, Indrani of Indra and Chamunda of Chandi or Parvati, each riding her parent god's own vahana and carrying his attributes."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)

Shakti

This source names Shakti directly: "of Hindu tradition, embodying the shakti or divine power of Indra, king of the gods and lord of storms."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)